Just showed my boss the zip car. she is SO doing it

I love not having a car here, but when I'm at my parents' (in Maryland), I can't imagine not having one.

This -- it's so very location-dependent. I'm thoroughly sick of the whole car thing, but there's just no way to do it; we're looking at a month of being down to one car, and even that's barely manageable here.

This -- it's so very location-dependent. I'm thoroughly sick of the whole car thing, but there's just no way to do it; we're looking at a month of being down to one car, and even that's barely manageable here.

Absolutely, totally location dependent. I am lucky we have a choice in our car driving ways.

I would also think that having kids would change the equation as well.

I'm so lame with planning when it comes to driving. Friends will leave me their cars for weeks at a time and I think WHEE! I'll go everywhere.

What do I do? I take Bartleby to the cemetery (dog park) and maybe schlep to northern VA to the grocery. It's embarrassing. I love my neighborhood so much...and have gotten so lazy, I guess, that making efficient use of a car just doesn't register with me anymore.

And when I think of the traffic I could be avoiding in the relative comfort and safety of the Metro? Nah...

I would like to make better use of the bus system. For some reason, I have this paranoid fear of missing my stop...but now Metrobus has these cool recordings the tell you the next stop before you even get there! I'd hate to be the poor driver having to listen to that all day, but it works wonders for me.

The weirdest thing about Bogota, is that it has the best/worst public trans I've ever seen. There's nearly always a bus every 5 minutes or so, there are a thousand ways to get to the metro, and the taxi service is hideously cheap. The worst part is, the busses are overcrowded, the metro is filled with pushy people, and the streets have horrific potholes from rock slides. The first time driving in a taxi with a non-native driver, you'd swear thatthe contraption has no shocks. Then you ride with a non-shock non-native taxi, and you end up breaking something. It's very surreal.

The Alien Nation DVD set coming out on January 3rd has a suggested pairing with Serenity on amazon.com...

There's nearly always a bus every 5 minutes or so, there are a thousand ways to get to the metro, and the taxi service is hideously cheap. The worst part is, the busses are overcrowded, the metro is filled with pushy people, and the streets have horrific potholes from rock slides. The first time driving in a taxi with a non-native driver, you'd swear thatthe contraption has no shocks.

Sounds just like New York. Except for the rock slides.

Aaaarrrrrggggggg.

I really enjoyed Alien Nation. Don't know that I'd have paired it with Serenity off the top of my head, but I can think of worse matches.

Oh, but New York get's different weather during the year. In Bogota, we get different whether depending on geography. You have to dress in layers depending on how you get to your destination.

Say you need to get to the other side of the city from where my old house is. You have to leave the house in a warm sweater, a muffler, and a long heavy coat. You also have to bring a huge granny bag. Take a taxi to the metro. At the metro station, just along the mountain edge, it's raining lightly so you have to huddle under some shleter. Get on the metro. Leave the lee of the moutain.

Suddenly, the metro in is direct sunlight and it's unbearably hot. To switch, the outer layer is removed, and you are reduced to a skimpy tube top and thin, knee-length khakis. Leaving the destination, you are positioned so that the lee winds are coming directly behind you. You have to do put the sweater on to keep off the cold chill. Then, into a final taxi and off with the sweater. Arrive at destination in a sunny spot where the lee winds can't reach. Remove sweater and warm shoes. Trade for strappy sandle/go barefoot.

Then, you get to reverse the process to go home. The constant upper body movement is very good for your arms.